Hammurabi Style - Chapter 37

 

***

 

– Come to ‘the unforgettable place with the portal’ within a week. If you don’t, Jinbum Park, you’ll be dead by me.

– If you don’t know the way, look through ‘the first victim’s room’.

Sangki Beak was putting his arm around Jinbum Park’s shoulder. Jinbum had a complicated face.

Sangki pointed at the camera and smiled. That was the end of the video.

‘It looks like it was recorded with a phone…’

‘The place might be… their meeting room?’

Kimin looked back at Sera Lee who showed the video to him.

“Sangki Beak spread this to the media. I’m wondering if you saw this…”

“Yes, I saw that. I didn’t expect that he was going to pick a fight like this.”

He giggled like this was ridiculous.

“‘The unforgettable place with the portal’ must be that place, right?”

Kimin nodded at Sera’s question.

“Obviously. The secret room in Ohsung.”

The video was Sangki Beak’s invitation.

‘Come to the secret room in Ohsung. If you don’t, you’re not going to be able to take revenge on Jinbum Park.’

“Well… He got a point. I guess that he had analyzed my revenge style.”

Kimin smiled bitterly and Sera turned pale.

“Are you going to go?”

“Yes. I should.”

She tried to stop him.

“You don’t need to. Isn’t letting Sangki Beak kill Jinbum Park a better way to take revenge?”

“No, he should be dead by me. I did that to Dongsoo Choi, Daehong Park, Hayeong Choi, and also Saehun Choi. Sangki Beak figured that out exactly.”

There are many people with the last name Choi, said Kimin and smiled.

“Actually, this is a chance.”

“What? How is it…”

“Sangki Beak neutralized Jinbum Park and is waiting for me now. It’s a chance to kill two guys at once. It doesn’t come all the time.”

Sera didn’t have anything to say but only stared at Kimin.

He smiled and changed the topic.

“By the way, people are going to be curious about what on earth he’s talking about.”

“…I guess so. What’s the unforgettable place or how does someone like Sangki Beak have memories?”

“I know. They won’t be able to find out where he kidnapped Jinbum.”

Kimin smiled slightly and Sera continued.

“That’s why some people claimed that Sangki’s just pretending. They’re saying that Sangki Beak and Jinbum Park are pretending to escape from the disgrace of ‘the disaster’ that Ohsung has.”

“They don’t know anything about Sangki Beak.”

“Seriously.”

The conversation stopped and it became quiet for a moment.

Sera Lee tried to figure out Kimin’s face and let out a sigh.

“You’re really going to go.”

“Yes.”

She saw Kimin’s firm eyes and said sadly, “You don’t have to go to ‘the first victim’s room’.”

“What do you mean?”

“The first victim was Dongsoo Choi whom you took revenge the first time, right?”

“That’s right. Dongsoo Choi was the skill strategy manager in Ohsung. Doesn’t it mean the secret room is inside his office?”

Sera shook her head.

“No, the secret room is in the basement.”

“Then why is he calling me to the office?”

“I guess… he’s trying to meet you there. Jinbum Park must be trapped in the secret room. I don’t think Sangki Beak’s going to stay in the room for very long.”

“It makes sense. He won’t do that.”

Kimin smiled.

“I should go to the secret room right away and kill Jinbum Park first. I just don’t want to do what Sangki wants me to.”

“Then… Let me explain how to get to the secret room in detail.”

“Please do.”

“You’re going to be back, right?”

“Of course. I always did.”

Sera carefully asked and Kimin showed her his thumbs up.

 

****

 

‘The energy stones’ quality wasn’t too good.’

‘But it doesn’t matter. With my skills and my plan…, I can handle him.’

He couldn’t get a new skill but moved confidently.

He went towards the secret room in Ohsung as Sera told him and pushed an unknown door with the words, ‘Staff Only’.

Creek-

It was open.

‘I go inside here and…’

‘I have to go down the hidden stairs.’

The basement in Ohsung was officially the fifth floor basement.

However, the secret room was in the sixth floor basement.

To use the hidden stairs, he needed to open a hidden door. To open the hidden door, he needed a key.

‘But there’s something like this at the Dark Auction.’

Kimin put something in the keyhole.

Rattle, rattle.

Something was shaking in the keyhole.

After a while, Kimin turned it and a click sound came out from the door.

Kimin went inside through the door and started to go down the stairs.

‘I can’t see anything without lights…’

He came down carefully and stood in front of a door.

‘This one is also…’

He was about to open the door.

Shiver-

‘Someone’s behind me.’

Kimin turned his body reflexively and there were eyes that were still bright even in the darkness.

That person instantly approached.

Click, creek.

He pulled the door handle and the door wasn’t locked.

‘Ugh…’

It might be because he was staying in the darkness too long.

Kimin closed his eyes tight due to the light pouring out from inside of the door.

“What are you doing? You’re not coming?”

The person looked back at Kimin from inside.

It was Sangki Beak.

 

**

 

“You’re impatient, so you came to the secret room right away.”

“…”

“Hahaha… Things are going well. I came to see Jinbum and found the elixir.”

‘Shit… fucking bad timing.’

Unexpectedly, Sangki was treating him nicely.

However, Kimin didn’t answer and looked around.

‘There wasn’t only one secret room.’

The rooms were dipped like ants’ rooms and were blocked with metal doors.

The inside structures looked similar, so Kimin couldn’t find the room where he was trapped.

“I’ll give you Jinbum. I can do this for you since you’re going to become my underling.”

“…”

Kimin didn’t answer.

He opened Sangki Beak’s status window quietly.

Kimin wasn’t saying anything, but Sangki Beak was talking excitedly.

“I’ve never tried this hard to get something I want in my life.”

“…”

Sangki Beak’s eyes shined.

“Foreign power? Shut the fuck up. I’m your owner.”

‘Bullshit.’

Kimin didn’t find a reason to answer.

‘He doesn’t have the abnormal status, the key, I saw before now…, but if it works as I think…’

At that moment Kimin was going to open his mouth.

“…When I’m talking, take off your mask type artifact. That’s rude in front of your owner.”

Rip.

Sangki’s hand disappeared for a second and tore Kimin’s face.

Then he didn’t allow Kimin to talk and got to the point.

“Now, it’s easy to talk to you since you’re here.”

Sangki stared at Kimin with lunatic eyes like he had already gotten everything he wanted.

His eyes were full of happiness.

Sangki held Kimin’s shoulder.

“I’ll give you a glorious chance to cure your owner. Elixir. Quickly!”

Kimin looked at Sangki Beak’s lunatic eyes for a moment and slowly opened his mouth.

“Fuck you.”

Kimin poured out all the methods that he had prepared to attack Sangki.

Kimin’s characteristic, ‘Shallow Grave’, allowed him to survive for five seconds with any injuries and collect them. He tried to move deadly injuries to Sangki.

“Urgh….”

However, he wobbled only for a moment and stood up again.

‘How can it be possible?’

If he regressed every second, wasn’t Kimin supposed to kill him within a second?

That was what Kimin was curious about when he heard the explanation from Sera Lee.

Sera said that everyone thought about Kimin’s idea.

‘She smiled and asked me if I thought that no one had thought about that…’

He suspected, but she was right.

No matter what he did, even when he looked like his heart stopped, he regressed after a second.

‘Can he regress even after dying? Ontological regression? Isn’t it cheating?’

When Hell Flame Vane was blocked by his regression, Kimin stopped attacking.

There was no reason to do useless attacks anymore, and also Kimin’s real plan was something different.

“Are you done? If you know that everything is meaningless…”

Kimin cut off Sangki’s sarcastic words.

“Then why do you need my skill? You can cure all the abnormal statuses with your regression. What on earth is your reason?”

“You’re right… Hm… Ok. I should let you know since you’re going to work for me from now on.”

Sangki agonized for a moment and then nodded.

“One of my skills consumes my lifespan. I can’t do anything about my lifespan with my regression.”

Kimin heard that and thought, ‘Bingo.’

Sangki continued, “Absorb my abnormal status…, ‘Aging’. If you can’t, you’ll die here.”

Everything was expected, so now it was time to execute his plan.

“And now treat me with respect.”

Kimin ignored Sangki’s warning and started to act.

“Wait a moment…”

He closed his eyes and stretched his hand towards Sangki.

Sangki made a puzzled face and then became relaxed soon.

He thought either Kimin gave in or Kimin couldn’t harm him.

Kimin mumbled while closing his eyes.

“Maze… Key… Side effect…?”

Actually, he couldn’t see anything like that from Sangki’s status window.

‘Who cares?’

As soon as Sangki heard him, his eyes became big and he raised his mouth.

“Yes! That’s it! Absorb it!”

However, Kimin only tilted his head and his face became frowned.

“Um…”

Sangki stared at Kimin impatiently and Kimin opened his eyes widely.

“It says inactivation….”

“Inactivation?”

Actually, he couldn’t see anything.

“Hm… This seems like you have to explain your skills to me.”

Sangki hesitated when Kimin asked.

So many thoughts were passing through his mind.

From ‘this asshole still doesn’t respect me.’ to ‘should I really tell him about everything?’

However, his absolute conviction on himself and his survival and his greed of his eternal life made him confess about his skill, [ Theseus of the Time Maze ], to Kimin.

Sera asked Sangki about his skill, so Kimin already knew roughly.

Still, he listened to Sangki’s explanation carefully and nodded.

“I think that this skill has to be used… so that its inactivation turns to ‘activation’ and I can absorb it…”

In front of Kimin slurring the end of his sentences, Sangki nodded.

‘I can do it anytime if my problem will be solved just after using my skill once.’

“Activate Time Maze? Now?”

Sangki stared at Kimin with his longing eyes.

“No, when I give you a signal.”

“O.. Ok.”

Sangki swallowed his spit.

It was the most nervous moment since he was awakened.

Kimin smiled and said, “Search your heart when you go inside.”

Sangki was going to ask what he meant and frowned his face, but Kimin yelled.

“Fill 5 minutes! Now!! It’s time!!!!”

Sangki used his skill before he knew it.

He disappeared instantly in front of Kimin.

‘As I expected.’

Kimin bet on the strengthened Adhesion’s characteristic, ‘Erasure of the limited distance’.

‘There’s no limit on the distance… It means that I can still open his status window even if he goes to the other world.’

He succeeded in his betting and grinned at the status window in front of him.

He checked on another bet in his plan, ‘Extortion of The Key’.

 

[ Abnormal Status: Ariadne’s Key (4:45) ]

 

***

 

‘Fill five minutes?’

Sangki passed by Kimin who was stopped while opening his mouth in front of him.

“Was I being too nice to him…? I think he’s so rude to me.”

‘He’s already in my hand…, but I can’t forgive him if he tries to use my kindness.’

He decided to teach Kimin when he got out of here.

‘Yea. He doesn’t show me respect… I have to teach him our relationship of top and bottom.’

He relaxedly walked through the black and white world.

‘How long has it been since I walked here relaxedly?’

He didn’t have to worry about his lifespan anymore.

He didn’t have to worry about how many times he used the black and white world.

“From now on… I’m truly becoming a god. All the time is in my hands.”

Sangki talked alone quietly and smiled satisfactorily.

‘It’s been 5 minutes I guess.’

He checked his arm.

‘Huh?’

The thing on his arm wasn’t where it belonged.

“Where… is my key?”

The red key, the only method to get out of the black and white world, on his arm had disappeared.